4 Best VPNs for China (July 2016)

Updated July 2016: If you plan to go to China, you should notice that Chinese government uses its filtering system dubbed the Great Firewall (GFW) to censor the Internet. Facebook, Google, YouTube and many foreign websites are blocked in China. The best way to bypass china’s great firewall and get full internet access is through China VPN services, which can fool the GFW into thinking you’re outside China.

At the same time, China blocks VPNs that let users bypass china’s firewall, which means that using VPN in china is not that simple and there are only a handful of VPNs that work in China. As some of you may know, China blocked VPNs after updating the Great Firewall last year. This attack is more sophisticated than what we’ ve seen before, while many providers reported that the upgrade had hindered users using their VPN in China. Therefore, you really need a VPN China review to find out a VPN that works in China.

There are a number of reviews on the best VPN for China, but most of the authors are not based in China. In addition to this, we were surprised to see them list some VPNs that are actually blocked in China. We know that because we’re a group of VPN experts based in China. We know which VPN works in china, and which doesn’ t. Our goal is to help you bypass china firewall and save time by showcasing the best VPN for China on the market today. Also, we will provide further updates once the Great Firewall gets taller.

So what is the best VPN service for China? Which VPN to use in China? According to our test results, here are the 4 best VPNs to use in China:

ExpressVPN is an all-round great pick for all users included. Their service is fast, secure and reliable. They have hundreds of servers in 78 countries, offer easy-to-use softwares for all devices, allow simultaneous connections, and have friendly customer support.

Based on our test, ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN for China. It offers the fastest speed on all offered protocols. More than that, you’ll be pleased to hear that there is no limit on bandwidth and the measured download speed was 5 Mb/s (about the max of our internet connection). They can get the fastest speed because they have industry’s best server infrastructure and management. In addition to this, they also have prepared a list of recommended locations which work best for you in terms of connection speed and protection. You can also run a speed test from within the client.

Alongside great speed performance, ExpressVPN likewise offers a very secure connection. They keep no usage logs and works entirely on the basis of dynamic shared IPs, meaning your activities are mixed with the activities of other users, therefore it is nearly impossible to single out any user’s web activity. Furthermore, ExpressVPN equips you with complex protocols and military grade encryption to give your data the best possible security you can find.

The only downside to the service is the price, but we think the money is well worth it. ExpressVPN is a bit expensive because they invest more money in infrastructure and employees in order to meet their users’ needs. However, you can save 35% by signing up for the yearly plan that will cost you just $8.32 per month. If you are not satisfied with services of ExpressVPN, you can get a full refund with their 30-day money back guarantee.

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for China, Click the button below and give it a try now!

#2. VyprVPN

VyprVPN operates with a lot of features that helps you stay completely secure and private while browsing. It is an top VPN for China if you are serious about online security while traveling.

VyprVPN takes an interesting approach to privacy and security. Unlike other VPN providers, VyprVPN owns and manages 100% of its own servers, hardware and global network. That is to say, hackers, ISPs, and even governments will not be able to monitor your internet activity at all. Moreover, VyprVPN uses a new proprietary protocol called Chameleon which is designed to bypass China’ s firewall. This protocol provides 256 bit SSL encryption so it also offers a greater level of privacy. Moreover, it has a NAT Firewall add-on for extra security. So if security is your main concern with the VPN, VyprVPN is the service for you.

We would like to apologize to the Golden Frog for saying that sometimes the Asian servers simply time out for a while (happens occasionally) when we tested, and most of the pings were too high (above 300). Nevertheless, it was downloading at the speed of 4 MB/s and higher. That’s by no means the fastest, but it’s enough for streaming HD videos. In addition, if you are looking for a China VPN service that keeps no logs, this one is not for you. In reality, they keep logs for at least 30 days.

We are proud to offer a Chinese special offer for all customers! With our special offer, you can save 40% on the Pro plan (US$59.99 per year, which is US$5.00 per month). The Pro plan allows 2 simultaneous connections and comes with all the features you want. Moreover, VyprVPN offers a 3 day free trial, you can try the service out and see how it performs. To save money with our special offer, you don’t need any coupon code to get it, simply click the button below!

#3. PureVPN

Positives:

Low price

Largest collection of servers

5 simultaneous connections

3 days trial for $2.5 only

Excelent customers support

Negatives:

Only 7-day money back guarantee

NO free trial

This Hong Kong based VPN provider is in a good position to serve users in China. It is a cheap VPN for China. If price is your reason for considering a VPN then PureVPN is for you. They are now offering a huge discount of 65% on the yearly plan. You can get a full year’s subscription for only $49.95. Also, it offers numerous discounts and promotions around the year. You can request a full refund within 7 days if you are not satisfied with the service. PureVPN is surely one of the best price service you should definitely try.

Another significant advantage of PureVPN over other services is its largest collection of servers. They provide over 450 servers located in 101 countries with 80,000+ IP address, meaning that you don’t have to share an IP with other people and won’t be slowed down. This provides options in case the user discovers that a server in a particular location is being blocked by the Great Firewall of China.

However, There may be a few things you may not like about PureVPN. Occasionally some of their servers might get blocked by the Great Firewall of China, so you can experience speed drops when running the VPN. Worth reminded that Torrents or other file-sharing traffic are limited to the PureVPN servers in some particular locations.

PureVPN offers a 7-day money back guarantee, but it is worth knowing that if you have used more than 500MB of bandwidth they will not refund your money. PureVPN does not provide free trials to new subscribers, but you can still go for a trial account, which costs just $2.5 for a 7-day trial.

#4. StrongVPN

StrongVPN is a great choice for those who want anonymous and fast China VPN service.

StrongVPN is managed by Reliable Hosting which is a large USA company also offers web hosting and internet services. StrongVPN offers a large number of plans, has perhaps the best support staff in the industry, offers a 7 day free trial, and works on all leading operating systems.

There are some ways in which you’re disadvantaged with StrongVPN. PPTP IP addresses are dynamic, while all OpenVPN IP’s are static. Why is that a concern? VPNs having Dynamic IP addresses have relatively lower security risk. You are allocated a new IP address each time you connect to a VPN, which makes it much more difficult to tie your activity to you. Dynamic IP is considered the best tool for protecting user’s information from the malicious agents like hackers and spammers. If security and privacy are at the top of your priorities, there are better services to suit your needs.

Another drawback is that you are not allowed to switch between servers as much as you wish. The SPECIAL package allows you to execute 15 VPN server switches per month. If you want additional switches, then you will have to pull out some extra money. Let us inform you that other VPN providers offer unlimited number of server switches.

Additionally StrongVPN can only permit you to be connected to one device at a time.

Speed wasn’t a problem during our testing. We measured a download throughput of around 4 MB/s. That’s by no means the fastest, but it’s enough for streaming HD content from YouTube or Netflix.

• Best VPN For China: Verdict

It is impossible to find a VPN that is faultless when picking the best VPN for China. They all have their own distinct merits, and they all have their disadvantages. You should pick a VPN service based on your needs.

VyprVPN keeps some logs for 90 days and its pings were crazy high. PureVPN also retains some logs about user activity, and its speed wasn’t the best. StrongVPN is fairly expensive, and puts a tight limit on the number of server switches.

ExpressVPN is our pick of the bunch. It is the best all-round solution. With the fastest connections we’ve tested, a high level of security and reasonable price, you can’t go wrong with ExpressVPN. It is slightly more expensive than other VPN service, but the money is well worth it. They are offering a 30-day unconditional money back guarantee. We suggest you give it a try and see if it suits you.

How we rate and evaluate China VPN service?

We are actual users of each VPN product and use the service for at least one week. This helps us become familiar with each brand and allows us to fully test out the service. We used www.speedtest.net to test the speed of each VPN services and report the result. We use a variety of criteria instead of our own biases and opinions. We consider a variety of criteria when choosing the best VPN for China, including speed test, server locations, privacy, IP types, price, P2P/bitTorrent allowed, customer support and unique selling points.

Is using VPN in China illegal?

It’s not illegal to use VPNs in China. Currently there is no law about using VPN in China. Using VPNs in China is necessary for many Chinese companies because they need secure network environment to do business online, and VPNs just play a significant role in it. It will cause severe economic loss by implement such a ban. Actually, many Chinese netizens use a variety of China VPN services to bypass China’ s great firewall, but nobody has been prosecuted for using a VPN. Therefore, you can be sure that you are totally safe while using VPN in China.

How to use a VPN in China?

Although using a VPN in China is not illegal, you should note that it is a grey area. You should only use a VPN for legitimate purposes. If your purpose of using VPN in China was to be able to access Skype, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, you will be fine. NEVER use a VPN engage in activity that can pose any potential threat to the Chinese government, otherwise you may experience legal repercussions.

Paid vs Free China VPN service

Sure, you may want to save money, but there is no such thing as a free lunch, using a free VPN in China is not as much effective as the paid one. Remarkably, free VPN services are only capable of offering PPTP protocol, which is no longer secure. Moreover, they usually have tons of ads and no doubt, there are speed and bandwidth limits. In the worst case, your information may be sold to third-party groups without your permission.

Paid VPN services are typically a better choice. They don’t limit your bandwidth, take your anonymity seriously, and usually tend to be fairly quick. In particular, paid VPN can promise you your service is available all the time, they can offer you a new IP address when your VPN connection is being blocked by China’ s firewall. While free VPN services are often blacklisted and blocked by the great firewall, and request such as changing VPN server is usually ignored. The truth is, there is barely a free VPN that works in China now.